People talking me up February 1, 2012
Posted by angebhart in Uncategorized.add a comment
My ever-so-generous older sister Liz, a.k.a. DakotaLizzie, bestowed upon me the Liebster Blog award.
As Liz described it on her blog, Liebster means “beloved, favorite, dearest” in German. The award is given to bloggers with less than 200 followers. Fellow bloggers can pass on the award as a way to encourage and promote the blogging community. Once someone receives the Liebster award, she or he is to do the following:
1. Post the award on your blog for the world to see!
2. Show your thanks to the blogger who awarded you the Liebster by linking back to them.
3. Reveal your 5 picks for the award and let them know they’ve been chosen.
4. Bask in the love from the most supportive people on the blogosphere…other bloggers!
5. Finally, the best rule of all, have fun and spread the love!
While I am excited to receive some recognition for my blog (even if the recognition comes from my sister), I won’t be passing it on to 5 blogs, simply because I don’t regularly follow 5 blogs.
So, without further adieu, I hereby present the Liebster Blog award to the following bloggers:
Ms. Caryn Vincent at Life In-Between.
Caryn originally started her blog as a means of keeping her friends and family updated while she studied abroad. After returning to this side of the sea, her blog sat untouched for quite sometime, until I got on her case about it and she got back into blogging. During the month of January she posted everyday (or close to it) as part of her participation in Janathon.
Ms. Maddie at Lies I Tell On the Bus.
Once upon a time, Maddie was my classmate. Then we went our separate ways in our respective degrees, and now we just creep on each other on Facebook. Maddie doesn’t post all that frequently, but when she does post, it’s a guaranteed laugh. She cleverly, and usually quite sarcastically, depicts the random encounters she has while waiting for and riding public transit.
Tracy Lynn, the Tracinator.
I hate to copy my older sister by nominating my younger sister, but her blog is indeed one of the few blogs I frequent. With the tagline of “Everything you never wanted to know…and more,” Tracy’s blog is essentially an anti-blog. Tracy hates the idea of blogging, yet she has one because it’s in her best interest, professionally. So, her updates are few and far between, but she’s an excellent writer and usually has a unique perspective to share.
As Liz did in her Liebster post, I also want to give a shout out to my dad, a progressive on the prairie. It’s not that I don’t want to present him with the Liebster award, I just think it might be a little silly for him to put on his blog. Plus, I think he might actually have a large following, a following large enough to “disqualify” him, but don’t quote me on that… Regardless, he avidly writes about the world of books. He also provides numerous links in his posts that are definitely worth checking out.
So there you go. You now know what blogs I frequent. Perhaps as I find more blogs that I enjoy, I might return to this list and nominate two more bloggers, but until then, enjoy the three (four, if you count my dad) listed above.
Just in case January 28, 2012
Posted by angebhart in Arts and Crafts, DIY, Pinterest.2 comments
I felt the need to be crafty…and, once again, it was to further deck out my living room. Having recently purchased a couch that is beyond most people’s wildest dreams, I’m all about maximizing the atmosphere of my living room. This time I focused on comfort, adding two new euro-sized pillows.
When it comes to pillows on the couch, I believe that bigger is better. But, large pillows can be so gosh darn expensive, so when I learned I could turn 3 standard-size pillows into 2 euro pillows, I jumped at the opportunity. Pinterest led me to “Two Euro Sized Pillows For Under $15.00“ by Megan at The Nola Ruth.
I followed the directions of Megan’s post, but with one notable difference: I stitched the batting from the pillow cut in half to the intact pillow. I opted to do this because no one likes a pillow that has two distinct chunks of batting. Basically, I wanted to ensure comfort. (Do you sense a theme here? I like to be comfortable.)
I also diverted from her directions when it came to the pillowcase. With a little help from eHow and the envelope pillowcase I had in my linen closet, I crafted my own envelope pillowcases. If you are interested in making your own, I created a “how to” guide: how to make an envelope pillowcase
My work from start to finish
And here the pillows are on my couch.
I had no idea my couch could be more comfortable than it already was, but it was possible and I plan on reaping the benefits for the rest of the evening.
Gettin’ my craft on January 23, 2012
Posted by angebhart in Arts and Crafts, DIY, Pinterest.3 comments
Just like half the nation (the female population, that is), I joined Pinterest. At first I was hesitant because I didn’t want to jump on the band wagon. But I joined, and now I have all these awesome DIY projects to do.
The first one I attempted, quite successfully might I add, was these yarns balls.
Being that I recently purchased the most comfortable couch you will ever sit on, and some wall art to go with it, I decided to add a little more décor to my living room with these custom-colored yarn balls.
My supplies.
The only thing not pictured is salt. I read in some directions for paper mache that salt helps prevent molding, and that perk appealed to me. As you can tell by the picture, I used two types of glue. And, having done three “batches,” due to time constraints and pure laziness, I didn’t notice a difference between glue brands. I did, however, notice a difference between water to glue ratios. But more on that later…
The first step was wrapping the balloons with dry yarn. This can be quite a feat, but once you find a method that works for you, it is tediously simple. Of the twelve yarn balls I made, I found that the tighter you pull the yarn against the balloon, the better. [I don’t have a picture of this step, my apologies.]
Next came the glue solution. I don’t have a specific water to glue ratio, but I started with equal parts water and glue and slowly added water until my solution was the consistency of skim milk. Then I added a tablespoon or two of salt, and whisked a little bit more. (If you’re a hand person, like me, these are my roommate’s hands.)
Then I dunked the yarn-wrapped balloons in the glue solution. Once all the yarn was sopping wet, I wiped the excessive top layer off the balloons before setting the balloons in old, open aluminum cans. (Hint: if you use really clean cans you can reuse the solution that drips off the balloons.) Then left the balloons to dry, overnight. (These are my hands.)
It might be worth your time to do this step twice. Once the yarn is completely dry, dunk them in the glue solution and leave them to dry again. Balloons that I dipped and dried twice over turned out more firm.
Once all the yarn is dry, and you can feel firmness in the strings, you are free to pop the balloons and put on display. Before popping my balloons, I sprayed a thick coat of glossy enamel over the yarn, just to help hold the structure.
And ta-da! My finished yarn balls!
I’m not proud January 23, 2012
Posted by angebhart in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
It’s been quite some time since I last posted something worthwhile, and for that, I am not proud. However, all that is about to change. Stay tuned for details about what I’ve been up to.
2011 in review January 1, 2012
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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,100 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 18 trips to carry that many people.
Fail. September 16, 2011
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A couple weekends ago a couple of friends and I decided to pay the Nebraska State Fair a visit, so we jumped in Freddie (my Ford Escape) and drove the hour and a half to Grand Island, NE . On our way out there I noticed I needed to get my oil changed soon, but it wasn’t the time or place for that, so I put it on my mental to-do list and continued on our way.
Everything went smoothly on the way out there, and at the fair we got our fried Oreo, Reese’s funnel cake, corn dog, lemonade and smoked turkey leg fix. (Don’t judge here. Who eats healthy things at the fair?!)
After a couple of hours, we started on our way home and entertained ourselves with some tunes. Everything was going fine as we’re driving along the interstate, until I see all the warning lights flash on my console and Freddie shuts off. Yes, Freddie’s engine stops running as I’m going 80 mph on the interstate. As I flash back to my Grand Am dying on the interstate in 2006 (when I threw a rod), I start to panic a little, thinking, “shit, not again.”
Being that I my engine is no longer on, I decide I need to pull off to the side of the road, so I go to push the brake. Turns out the brake is locked. Push as I might, I seriously cannot brake. So I turn on the hazards and pull off on the shoulder and we coast until we can safely pull the emergency brake.
Once we are stopped, I put Freddie in park and turn off the ignition. The music and headlights are still on so I know my battery didn’t die mid-drive. Then I think, hmm, I’m only 200 miles over my suggested oil change, that can’t be it either. I’m at a loss and I’m starting to think some electronic in my car just crapped out.
After giving Freddie a minute to sit, I turn the ignition, and nothing happens. We’re all dumbfounded, thinking “What the hell went wrong?”
I pulled out my handy-dandy AAA card and grab my phone (which I had set on my console in the event someone would actually want to talk to me). As I’m sitting on the phone, waiting for a AAA representative, I notice a familiar light on my console. A light that is covered up when I put my phone on the console.
What light is it you ask?
It’s the gas light.
Yep, that’s right. This idiot ran out of gas on the interstate.
Luckily we were just 5 miles away from a small town exit on the interstate, so we only had to wait about half an hour for AAA to bring us gas (complimentary gas, might I add, because of my father’s wise decision to go platinum on the membership…).
As elated as I was to find out that Freddie didn’t crap out on me, my ego was quite bruised by the fact that I ran out of gas. But hey, considering I don’t get gas until my gas light kicks on, it was bound to happen. I’m just glad I had company during the ordeal.
But, don’t worry. There’s a bright side to this story. Considering I didn’t see my gas light because my phone was blocking the gas light the entire time, I can say I’m a safe of a driver and know better than to be on my phone while driving…
Scootin’ around September 2, 2011
Posted by angebhart in going green, scooter.add a comment
This summer I bought a scooter.
The decision to buy a scooter came from owning an SUV and moving to the south side of Lincoln, NE.
For the past two years, my residence was extremely convenient. Living less than three miles to work and school, and being on a bus route for one of those years, I saved a lot of money on in-town travel because I could walk, bike or bus to work and school.
While my Ford Escape is a stud of a vehicle and I love driving it, my Escape really isn’t very gas efficient and I had a hard time justifying the cross-town drive in an SUV for just one person. So, I bought a scooter for my in-town travels.
Freddie the Ford and Lil' Red (not named after the Huskers)
The initial upfront cost of buying the scooter was an investment, but I think that within a year, I can “pay it off” in gas savings. So, since June 3, I’ve been recording all the money I’ve spent on gas and the miles I’ve driven on both my Escape and my scooter. Here’s the summary of my gas usage this summer (as of August 20):
My Escape
179.3 gallons of gas purchased
$608.82 spent on gas
Approximately 3600 miles driven
Averaging 19.61 mpg
My Scooter
4.577 gallons of gas purchased
$17.49 spent on gas
Approximately 400 miles driven
Averaging 110.2 mpg
As you can see, I put A LOT of miles on my Escape this summer, which really racked up my gas bill. But, almost all those miles are roadtrip miles that I was going to with or without a scooter. I was very diligent about not driving my Escape around town unless I needed to (for example, I can’t go grocery shopping with my scooter). So, I added a lot of highway and interstate miles to my Escape, but I saved almost 400 in-town miles from being added to my Escape’s odometer.
So, with these 400 miles driving on my scooter I saved, wait for it…
400 miles * (1 gallon/19.61 miles) * (($608.82/179.264 gallons)/ 1 gallon) = $ 69.27 – 17.49 = $51.78
Due to the various road trips I took this summer, I really didn’t experience the gas savings I initially hoped for, but now that I’m not road tripping every weekend, the gas saving will start adding up.
Plus, by saving $51.78, I’ve already paid off 3% of my scooter investment.
Best. Weekend. Ever. July 19, 2011
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I had an absolutely, fantabulous weekend. A weekend so great that I took Monday morning off of work so I could attempt to catch up on sleep. And even though I am still a little sleep deprived and I spent a little more money than I should have, I would do it all again at the drop of a hat. And, what makes my weekend even better is that it actually started on Thursday night…
The beginning was actually an end: Thursday
Thursday night, my childhood came to an end, as it did for a lot of the world. If you are unaware (and shame on you if you are), Thursday night (technically Friday at 12:01 AM) was the final midnight release of the Harry Potter movies.
Since fourth grade, I have been a Harry Potter freak. Aside from the first two books, I read every book within four days of its release and have attended every movie on they day of the release. As I was just a pre-teen when the first movies came out I did not attend the midnight showings, but you can bet your bottom that my parents got my sisters and I excused from school to attend before the mad after-school rush.
Thursday night was rather bittersweet because it was the end of the Harry Potter era, but the movie was so g-darn amazing that I didn’t care I had to go to the movie by myself (since I was out of town for work) or that I only got 4 hours of sleep before having a full day ahead of me.
You can sleep when you are dead: Friday
Even with a lack of sleep, I powered through the second day of a 2-day meeting/mini-conference and drove myself halfway across Nebraska to a Goo Goo Dolls concert.
The venue sells refillable glasses, which are pretty appealing because you can bring them into other summer concerts. However, as flood waters are approaching the concert area, the bartenders sales pitch heeds warning: “You can use them through the end of the summer, or until the river gets us, whichever comes first.”
For my readers not located in the states, or in the Midwest, there is currently a flood plaguing seven states. Here’s how close the venue should be to the river:
Here’s where it is now:
It’ll be interesting to see if the river gets them first.
Despite the mid-90s temperature and the 75% humidity, my friends and I made sure to keep ourselves hydrated (with some adult beverages) and we were able to put aside our outdoor-concert discomfort and enjoy the show.
Me, Amber, Andrea
As we are children of the late-90s we were happy to hear some Michelle Branch:
And, of course, the Goo Goo Dolls.
Throughout the concert, we were subjected to some light rain. Immediately after the concert, we endured a short steady rain, which you can see on the lenses of our sunglasses.
Yes Corey Hart, we wear our sunglasses at night too.
And saving the best for last: Saturday night.
As I previously mentioned, I grew up in the 90s. Ipso facto, I used to crush still crush on boy bands.
Either by contractual agreements or desires to make a comeback, several boy bands have recently reunited and are touring. Earlier this month, my friend and I discovered that New Kids on the Block (NKOTB) and the Backstreet Boys (BSB) were going to Kansas City, Missouri. Shortly after that, we purchased tickets.
My older sister lives in Missouri, so I invited her as well because, you see, she used to be a little obsessed with boy bands. And, when I say obsessed, that’s a kind way of saying she was a boy band freak. I mean, just look at how her bedroom used to be decorated. (Notice, Nick Carter of BSB dominates her wall.)
So, after a solid night’s sleep, my friend and I road-tripped down to KC, MO where we saw NKOTBSB at the Sprint Center.
Going into the concert, I wasn’t sure what to think. Throughout the entire concert, I thought, “Hmm, this is strange. I feel like I’m 12 going on 22 because I’m drinking at a BSB concert.”
I will admit, being a die-hard BSB fan as a kid, I went to the concert namely for BSB.
Yes, you counted right, there are only four. Kevin decided not to tour. But, Nick Carter did, and his performance moved my older sister to tears. No joke.
But, I left the concert as a NKOTB fan.
And, I discovered I have a huge crush on I am infatuated with Donnie Wahlberg of NKOTB.
If only I could have caught the tank-top he ripped off his body…
Much to my surprise, the NKOTBSB concert was phenomenal. Seriously, it was well worth every penny and second I invested into attending. The concert was so great, we considered following them to their next location. But alas, our weekend had to come to an end.
As such, my friend and I headed home and jammed out to NKOTB’s Summertime. Trying to learn every word, we listened to it, on repeat one, from Topeka to Nebraska City, or approximately 26 times over. Sure, this might seem appalling and ridiculously annoying, but we can’t help it…our childhoods dictated that we live and breathe boy bands.
I quit. June 30, 2011
Posted by angebhart in Juneathon.2 comments
If you hadn’t guessed already by the absence of my logging and blogging, I sort of quit Juneathon.
I threw in the towel just over a week ago. Since then, I’ve worked out several times which helped me realize, if I just had to work out everyday, I would have been golden. As I’ve griped before, it was the logging and blogging that brought me down.
During Janathon, I didn’t mind spending time on my computer in the evenings for a coupel reasons. First, it was cold outside. I had nothing better to do. Two, it was a great distraction from my homework.
However, Juneathon made it a chore to blog. I just wanted to sit on my porch (with an adult beverage) at the end of the night and enjoy the weather.
So, I failed at Juneathon. Oh well, I can’t be good at everything.
Let’s just say it counts June 18, 2011
Posted by angebhart in Juneathon.2 comments
Day 17: Hacky sack and midnight volleyball
Day 18: 1.5 mile run
So I’m not quite sure my June 17 workout, which entailed some hackey sack and backyard, glow-in-the-dark volleyball, actually constitutes ”some form of exercise.” But, for the sake of completing Juneathon, I’m thinking that since I broke a sweat several times during our backyard games, it counts as exercise, minimal as it may be.
